Antonacci Family Makes

Antonacci Family uses Foundation to make a difference

As COVID-19 spread, businesses closed and jobless rates skyrocketed during the spring of 2020, one selfless family thought the time was right to step in and help people in need.

Well, technically it’s two families.

OK, breaking things down another step, at this point in their adult lives, it’s really six families—specifically, six Wilbraham & Monson Academy graduates.

The Antonacci Family, which owns five successful businesses in Connecticut and Massachusetts, led a regional push through its Antonacci Family Foundation to provide more than one million meals to people during the economic low-point of the coronavirus.

“My dad, Frank Antonacci, and my uncle Jerry Antonacci thought we should look into something,” said Chris Antonacci ’06, whose family operates Sonny’s Place, USA Hauling & Recycling, All-American Waste, GreatHorse and Lindy Farms. “We all mobilized and quickly executed a plan of action. It was a team effort, and hopefully some good came out of it.”

More than some good. With his two brothers (Frank ’01 and Phil ’13) and three cousins (Guy ’05, Sara ’07 and Matt ’13) all chipping in, they set out to help people who had fallen on hard times while the world buckled to a pandemic.

“With the impacts of the COVID closures, people out of work and businesses shutting down, we started to see food banks run out of food and lines to receive food at unprecedented lengths,” said Mr. Chris Antonacci, a current member of WMA’s Board of Trustees. “We were taken aback by all this, and discussing with our friends, neighbors and co-workers, we got a sense of what a lot of people were going through.”

Originally, the family planned to visit food banks in approximately 150 communities in Connecticut and Massachusetts, but that quickly became too daunting. Soon thereafter, the family caught a break.

“Rather serendipitously, we ran into (WFSB) Channel 3 News in Connecticut and they were trying to put together a similar type of food drive,” Mr. Chris Antonacci said. “Together we came up with this Millions of Meals initiative. The acronym is MOM and it coincided with Mother’s Day.”

With Channel 3, its regional affiliates and also iHeartRadio on board, the Antonaccis held one event in Massachusetts and three more in Connecticut, where the food banks in those areas dispersed goods.

After a launch in Springfield, Massachusetts, the program next went to Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. It was there that, for many of the family members, the situation gained substance.

“That was eye-opening,” Mr. Chris Antonacci admitted. “We were there for two hours. There were 100 volunteers who were handing out food. Operationally, it was great. People drove by each station like a slow roll. People would stay in their vehicles as the volunteers put bags of produce and groceries in the trunk. It was a steady stream of cars for at least two hours. The sheer number of individuals and families seeking meals drove home just how dire our local economic situation was.

“It was satisfying, but also alarming. This was a month-and-a-half or so after things started closing down, and...there’s a thin line that a lot of people live on.”

• Frank Antonacci ’01 speaks at a Millions of Meals event in Waterbury, Connecticut.

• A long line of families in cars await the help of the Antonacci family.

“We all mobilized and quickly executed a plan of action. It was a team effort, and hopefully some good came out of it.”

— chris antonacci ’06

• Brothers Frank Antonacci ’01, second from left, and Chris Antonacci ’06, third from right, and their cousin Guy Antonacci ’05, middle, at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

With even more resolve, the Antonaccis traveled south to East Haven, Connecticut, for another event.

“There were even more cars,” Mr. Chris Antonacci said. “It confirmed that this initiative was urgently needed. We knew our donation was only going to make a dent in the region. We needed other people to join in. That’s why we were happy to team up with Channel 3 and iHeartRadio to get the message out and get other donations in, too.”

After a three-week push, Millions of Meals raised approximately $1 million. The Antonacci Family Foundation accounted for half of that. The food bank supervisors estimated that $1 purchased at least two meals, meaning the initiative provided two million meals for people in the region who were struggling during one of the most difficult stretches the country has seen in more than 100 years.

“I can’t say enough about the volunteers we saw,” Mr. Chris Antonacci praised. “Hundreds of people came to assist, and at that time it was considered unsafe to be out and people were scared. But they were out and getting the job done. They were masked up, working next to other people, and they didn’t miss a beat. It was encouraging to see people jumping into action during a time of need... ”

Along with the satisfaction of knowing thousands of concerned people benefitted from their generosity and efforts, on a lighter note, the Antonaccis learned about a family story that had somehow remained silent for decades.

“I knew my grandmother (Maryann) did Meals on Wheels, but apparently, as our initiative came out, she revealed that she had worked every week at a food bank in Enfield (Connecticut) for 40 years,” Mr. Chris Antonacci beamed. “Nobody knew about it; I don’t even think my father knew. She said it was awesome we were doing this, and then she throws in this tidbit. So it was nice for her to see that. Hopefully this will further that tradition.”